Energy, or a lack of it, is Britain’s most common health complaint, with 76 per cent of people claiming to feel tired most of the time, according to a recent survey of 22,000 people. As one child said in an exam howler, “modern man is a knackered ape”.

There are two things that get you up in the morning — adrenalin and glucose. Fifteen minutes of concentrated panic about the day ahead will usually raise enough adrenalin to get us out of bed. Others stagger on remote control for the kettle, aroused only by tea, coffee, a cigarette or rocket fuel we call toast with sugar we call jam.

In the morning, after a probable ten hours without food, blood glucose is at an all-time low. We are designed to wake up by light stimulating the brain, which boosts adrenalin and raises blood sugar — and raises humans from a horizontal to a vertical position. However, the more stimulants we consume the more insensitive we become to adrenalin. This is called “downregulation” and is akin to becoming partially deaf to adrenalin’s wake-up call.

Dr Peter Rogers, at Bristol University, measured the alertness on rising of caffeine consumers and abstainers. The caffeine-free folk were more alert. The caffeine consumers were then given their morning fix and soon became equally, but not more, alert. So what’s the way out of this vicious cycle of addiction to stimulants and chronic fatigue?

EAT THREE MEALS A DAY There’s truth in the saying: “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper”. Eating protein with slow-releasing carbohydrates stabilises blood sugar levels, with breakfast being the most important meal. That means scrambled eggs on wholemeal rye toast; or porridge oats, hot or cold, sweetened with apple, pear or berries for breakfast; and something like salmon with brown basmati rice for lunch. All of these foods have a low glycaemic index, or GI score, which means they keep your blood sugar level, and energy more stable.

The worst would be coffee with sugar and croissant for breakfast, bananas as snacks, white bread sandwich for lunch and white pasta or rice for dinner. These are all fast-releasing sugars, which means your blood glucose peaks and troughs quickly, leaving you tired in the aftermath. Eating sugary foods, of course, is bad news.

TAKE SUPPLEMENTS Glucose is turned into energy within every cell of the body and brain; this process is dependent on B vitamins and vitamin C. The optimal amount for energy, according to research at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, is roughly ten times the recommended daily amount (RDA), so look out for a high strength multivitamin with at least 25mg of B1, B2, niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5) and pyridoxine (B6), plus some folic acid and B12. Also take 1,000mg of vitamin C. Chromium (200mcg a day), available in any health shop, is an essential mineral that helps to stabilise blood sugar levels and appetite, especially craving for sugar or stimulants.

LIMIT STIMULANTS This can be hell for a couple of days, but not if you do all the above. It takes three to four days for the body to “upregulate” and develop increased sensitivity to your own home-made natural stimulant, adrenalin. I recommend going cold turkey — no tea, coffee or caffeinated drinks for two weeks. Of course, cigarettes should go, too, but weaning off is better than cold turkey. Alcohol depletes your energy in three ways. It robs the body of vital B vitamins and vitamin C.

If you go to bed sozzled it suppresses dreaming and this leaves you more tired in the morning, and hence in need of caffeine. It also taxes your liver and leaves you dehydrated, both of which increase tiredness. So limit yourself to a glass of wine or one unit of alcohol at least two hours before you go to sleep, and drink as much water as wine.

‘NATURAL’ HIGHS Once your energy is good you’ll crave fewer stimulants, so the odd cup of weak tea or coffee is no big deal. If you need a boost at first, you can do it the natural way. The body makes adrenalin, and its cousins, the “feel-good” neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenalin, directly from an amino acid called tyrosine. Supplementing 1,000mg of actual tyrosine — which can be bought as a supplement from any health food store — on an empty stomach or with some carbohydrate such as a piece of fruit, gives a positive lift. In addition to tyrosine there are a number of “adaptogenic” herbs. These include Asian and Siberian ginseng, Reishi mushrooms and rhodiola. While rhodiola was a favourite in Siberia, Reishi mushroom is one of the most respected tonics in Chinese medicine, where it has been revered for 5,000 years. These herbs are called adaptogens because they help to even out and maintain normal levels of another energy-giving adrenal hormone called cortisol. These are all available as herbal supplements.

Patrick Holford is the founder of the Institute of Optimum Nutrition; www.ion.ac.uk

HOW MANY ZEDS?

Two-thirds of the adult population think they are getting less sleep now than a few years ago.

Information supplied by the Sleep Council UK